Nickel Sees Small LME Price Drop, Economic Data to Blame

Speculators trimmed their positions in nickel yesterday, taking negative cues from overseas markets including mixed data from Chinese manufacturing reports. Nickel, the alloying metal of stainless steel, had been on a weeks-long climb previously and will likely recover in days as demand for stainless steel continues unabated.

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With a decline of 1.5 percent on the LME to $15,800 per metric ton on Monday, March 31, the nickel 3-month price recorded the biggest decline of the day. The spot price of nickel weakened by 1.2 percent on the LME, settling at $15,765 per metric ton. After falling for two days, the cash price of primary Indian nickel rose 0.1 percent to INR 960.00 ($16.04) per kilogram.

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Chinese stainless steel closed mixed yesterday. The price of Chinese ferro-chrome saw little movement at CNY 8,300 ($1,338) per metric ton. The price of Chinese ferro-moly remained essentially flat at CNY 145,000 ($23,375) per metric ton.

The price of Chinese primary nickel inched up 1.1 percent to CNY 102,500 ($16,523) per metric ton. The price of Chinese 316 stainless coil was unchanged at CNY 26,000 ($4,191) per metric ton. The price of Chinese 304 stainless coil continues hovering around CNY 16,400 ($2,644) per metric ton for the fifth day in a row. The price of Chinese 316 stainless steel scrap held steady at CNY 16,100 ($2,595) per metric ton. The price of Chinese 304 stainless steel scrap saw essentially no change for the fifth day in a row, remaining around CNY 16,400 ($2,644) per metric ton.